European Beer and Lemonade Drinks Tradition by Ruth Paget
I first discovered European beer and lemonade drinks when I drank a French panaché at the St.-Nom-de-la-Bretèche Golf Club outside Paris, France.
I had organized a golf outing for several of the Japanese clients of the firm where I worked. I do not play golf, but I have learned to keep score for many sports after being part of a junior bowling league in Royal Oak, Michigan at the Yorba Linda Lanes.
This early bowling experience taught me how sports can promote food and beverage sales in local communities. I was very interested in the beer and lemonade combination and so were the Japanese, avid golf players.
In the 1990s, panaché became available in canned versions in Paris and rivaled Orangina for television advertising ads. I might not have started the trend, but I was there and certainly drank my share of French beer and lemonade when I lived in Paris.
I discovered that Germany also has beer and lemonade drink called radler (or radlermass) when I lived in Stuttgart, Germany. Germans mostly make radler with lemonade, but will sometimes add grapefruit and/or oranges to the citrus mix.
Back in California, I wondered if the English also have a beer and lemonade tradition. I looked through the internet responses and saw several websites describing a shandy, a beer and lemonade drink that can also be made with carbonated lemonade.
Recipes for these drinks call for 50% beer (Pilsner or ale) to 50% lemonade.
My preference among the three is German radler, because you can add many kinds of citrus to the citrus ade and avoid food waste.
All three beer and lemonade drinks – panaché, radler, and shandy – are easy to prepare summer drinks perfect for a barbecue.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
